[CF-Devel] Tile improvements

[Andreas Vogl]

dnh wrote:

>
     
      MichToen raised the question of what should we do with out background
     
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      tiles. He has some 2 x 2 set images (ie a mountain made out of four tiles)
     
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      and was wondering how we might include these. Should we create a new set?
     
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      should we just add them as new tiles and then allow map makers to add them
     
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      as they choose (assimilation)? Should we replace our old ones?
     
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      I personally think we should just add them in, we don't need to remove
     
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      anything just yet, lets just add the 2 x 2 set and use it when needed. I
     
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      think as we recieve images we should try to catelogue them as quickly as
     
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      possible so as to not lose anything, and to allow cvs users to access them
     
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      easily.
     
     
Generally I think adding images without using them is bad. Especially
if they don't fit perfectly into the set. *If* they fit, then use them -
say replace.

The question is: What do these tiles look like? If you refer to those
on <
     
     http://mids.student.utwente.nl/~michtoen/demotiles/
     
     >, it is very
important to note that they are pretty much photorealistic!

Deciding about the graphic-style in a set is just as important as deciding
about the perspective. E.g it is totally silly to have a photorealistic
background and then show monsters with pink/cyan anime-comic style on it.

Right now we have no graphics that look even close to photorealistic.
Yet the standard set is at least a bit closer to that than the
alternate_images set. Also we should consider that "realistic" images
are harder to draw, so if we decide to go that way we make it hard,
maybe even impossible for non-professional artists to work on the set.
(Don't forget that "non-professional artists" have drawn at least 90%
of all existing CF graphics.)

If the majority of us wants to include the pictures, we could eventually
dedicate the standard image set to head in the direction of photorealism.
And the alternate set to stay more in the handdrawn pixel-style.

Not sure if that would really be cool and if that really is what people
want. I encourage you to mess around with these pictures on local servers
and see how the game looks with them included.

Personally I am not yet convinced that including these tiles is a
good idea. On the other hand they do look nice.


Andreas V.